Ghana tables UN resolution on slave trade reparations

Ghana has placed before the United Nations General Assembly a draft resolution seeking formal recognition of the transatlantic slave trade and racialised enslavement of Africans as the gravest crime against humanity, with debate scheduled for 25 March 2026.

The timing is deliberate. The discussion is expected to coincide with the International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade, giving added diplomatic weight to what Ghana is presenting as a major reparatory justice initiative.

The effort is being advanced by Foreign Affairs Minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa and is tied to President John Dramani Mahama’s role as the African Union’s champion on reparations. Ghana says the aim is to shift the international conversation from symbolic acknowledgment to legal and moral responsibility.

In explaining the move, Ablakwa has argued that the proposal is not about sentiment or ceremony, but about justice grounded in international law. He has also said the consequences of slavery remain visible in the lives of people of African descent and across African societies, despite the passage of centuries.

Reuters has reported that the draft resolution is also tied to a broader push for reparations, with backing from the African Union and Caribbean Community states, and that Ghana expects substantial international support even though resistance is anticipated in some quarters.

If adopted, the resolution would mark a significant diplomatic milestone and could open the door to more structured global engagement on reparatory justice for slavery and its long-term consequences.